Orbital Foreign Body (Suspected)
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Population Covered By The Guidance
This pathway provides guidance on the imaging of an adult patient with a suspected orbital foreign body.
Date reviewed: August 2013
Date of next review: April 2023
Published: August 2013
Quick User Guide
Move the mouse cursor over the PINK text boxes inside the flow chart to bring up a pop up box with salient points.
Clicking on the PINK text box will bring up the full text.
The relative radiation level (RRL) of each imaging investigation is displayed in the pop up box.
| SYMBOL | RRL | EFFECTIVE DOSE RANGE |
 |
None | 0 |
 |
Minimal | < 1 millisieverts |
 |
Low | 1-5 mSv |
 |
Medium | 5-10 mSv |
 |
High | >10 mSv |
Teaching Points
Teaching Points
- Helical CT scanning is considered diagnostic method of choice for the detection of intraocular and orbital metallic, glass and stone foreign bodies and is preferred over MR imaging and sonography.
References
References
References are graded from Level I to V according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Levels of Evidence. Download the document
- Lakits A, Steiner E, Scholda C, Kontrus M. Evaluation of intraocular foreign bodies by spiral computed tomography and multiplanar reconstruction. Ophthalmology. 1998;105(2):307-12. (Level III evidence)
- Lakits A, Prokesch R, Scholda C, Bankier A. Orbital helical computed tomography in the diagnosis and management of eye trauma. Ophthalmology. 1999;106(12):2330-5. (Level II evidence) View the reference
- Chacko J, Figueroa R, Johnson M, Marcus D, Brooks S. Detection and localization of steel intraocular foreign bodies using computed tomography. A comparison of helical and conventional axial scanning. Ophthalmology. 1997;104(2):319-23. (Level II evidence) View the reference
- Lindahl S. Computed tomography of intraorbital foreign bodies. Acta Radiol. 1987;28(3):235-40. (Level III evidence)
- Prokesch R, Lakits A, Scholda C, Bankier A, Ba-Ssalamah A, Imhof H. Spiral CT and conventional CT in the preoperative imaging of intraocular metal foreign bodies. Radiology. 1998;38(8):667-73. (Level II evidence)
- McGuckin Jr J, Akhtar N, Ho V, Smergel E, Kubacki E, Villafana T. CT and MR evaluation of a wooden foreign body in an in vitro model of the orbit. Am J Neuroradiol. 1996;17(1):129-33. (Level III evidence)
- McNicholas MM, Brophy DP, Power WJ, Griffin JF. Ocular trauma: evaluation with US. Radiology. 1995;195(2):423-7. (Level II evidence) View the reference
- Gor DM, Kirsch CF, Leen J, Turbin R, Von Hagen S.Radiologic differentiation of intraocular glass: evaluation of imaging techniques, glass types, size, and effect of intraocular hemorrhage. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2001;177(5):1199-203. (Level III evidence)
- Go JL, Vu VN, Lee KJ, Becker TS. Orbital trauma. Neuroimag Clin N Am. 2002;12(2):311- 24. ( Level III evidence)
Information for Consumers
Information for Consumers
Information from this website |
Information from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists’ website |
Consent to Procedure or Treatment Radiation Risks of X-rays and Scans |
Radiation Risk of Medical Imaging During Pregnancy |
File Formats
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